my pink life, mi vida rosada

He disfrutado al máximo los días aquí en la playa. Me da mucha tristeza pensar que hoy, en la tarde, tendré que volver a la realidad, acostarme temprano, e ir a la escuela en la mañana, a un grupo de niños que seguramente habrán olvidado las reglas... Tristeza, frustración, cansancio, y más -- estas son las cosas que me esperan. Pero hoy, estoy celebrando. Estoy celebrando que le convencí a mi esposito lindo ponerse un traje de baño ayer, ir conmigo a sentarse en la arena, comer un picnic, y después caminar hasta el final de la playa en el sol y frío. Estoy celebrando que dos días hemos ido a Silver Coast a tomar vino rico, juntos, para puro disfrutar. Estoy celebrando que fuimos a comer helado, y en vez de comer helado, encontramos una tienda nueva de tortitas, y tuvimos que comprar algunos extras porque no teníamos efectivo. Estoy celebrando que fuimos a comprar otra vez porque esposito quiso hacerlo, no porque yo lo sugerí. Estoy celebrando que vimos el cielo cambiando a rosad...

Why, o why, is it always so long in between beach visits? This place, how it restores my soul, my productivity, my good mood. Just to look out the windows and see the water, the sunlight reflecting in, the green of the live oaks, the marsh grass, and way out beyond that, the white of the dunes.... And a week with four Saturdays -- totally beats that week with two Mondays that we had a while ago. I'll take four Saturdays anytime. Wednesday-Saturday was spent at Target, then baking Thanksgiving cookies with my mama and sister, and shopping with my mama in the afternoon. Thursday-Saturday was spent with the family -- all of the family -- 43 of us, to be exact, eating and playing and walking the annual walk, and then eating some more, before heading to the beach with sweet hubby. Friday-Saturday was spent sleeping in, visiting Silver Coast, napping, and, late in the day, shopping -- best way to do black Friday. I got the things that were on my list at a discount, and without having...

School days, at least. A Sunday, two school days, and then WednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday goodness. Thursday night to the beach -- Oh, my refuge, how I have missed you. Oh, beach, how I hope and dream that I might be so blessed to spend two months with you this summer....But I bet it's someone else's turn. School is still plugging along, with kids who talk back every change they get and complain about the tiniest things. I wish I could love on these little kids, because they clearly need it, but with so many behavior issues to "handle", there seems to be no time for being nice. That may be the hardest part of the year for me -- no time to be nice, no time to be relaxed, no time to just feel at ease doing the teacher thing this year. What is making this year feel so long is that I am always stressed -- always wondering which kid will go off next, and exactly how, and what I'm supposed to do in response... For the kid who likes to throw stuff, my team ...

Will you please end soon? The sooner you end, the sooner December comes, and goes, and the sooner January and then February and March, April, May, and June will arrive....And Oh, how I want June to arrive. This is going to be one long school year. I think my day could have been a little nicer without the migraine today. Oh, and the smell -- 3rd graders after recess, horrible, with a migraine. Basically unbearable, with the migraine. And an upset in the fourth grade.... The sudden switch of our fourth grade immersion teacher to the middle school, and the middle school teacher to fourth grade immersion....I'm sure she will be really nice, once I get to meet her for more than 5 minutes and she has some time to settle in. It was a good weekend, though -- time well spent with a college friend and her family. They were having a rough weekend, coming to visit right off of bad news (a life dream crushed in a phone call the day they drove over....) but we managed to watch a ridiculou...

Two Mondays is way too many Mondays in one week. I guess that technically, there was only one Monday this week, and will only be one Friday, too, but the first Monday this week felt like a whole week in and of itself. Monday was the day after Halloween and the day before election day. For most people, this simply means that Monday was the day after handing out candy to cute kids dressed up in crazy costumes, and the day before trying to remember to vote. For me, it was the day after my students stayed up late eating ridiculous amounts of sugar and the day before a day off of school. Monday was full of Monday behavior. And Friday behavior. And between the two, I managed to send two kids to the office before 8:30, and another in the afternoon, and one of the 2 I had send in the morning got sent back to the office in the afternoon by his other teacher. Four office visits in one day? Not a normal Monday. Four office visits in a week? Now that would seem like a normal week, with t...